Congo to Auction Land to Oil Companies: ‘Our Priority Is Not to Save the Planet’

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/africa/congo-oil-gas-auction.html

By Ruth Maclean and Dionne Searcey, The New York Times. 

Excerpt: DAKAR, Senegal — The Democratic Republic of Congo, home to one of the largest old-growth rainforests on earth, is auctioning off vast amounts of land in a push to become “the new destination for oil investments,” part of a global shift as the world retreats on fighting climate change in a scramble for fossil fuels. The oil and gas blocks, which will be auctioned in late July, extend into Virunga National Park, the world’s most important gorilla sanctuary, as well as tropical peatlands that store vast amounts of carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere and from contributing to global warming. “If oil exploitation takes place in these areas, we must expect a global climate catastrophe, and we will all just have to watch helplessly,” said Irene Wabiwa, who oversees the Congo Basin forest campaign for Greenpeace in Kinshasa. ...said Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, the nation’s lead representative on climate issues and an adviser to the minister of hydrocarbons ...Congo’s sole goal for the auction... is to earn enough revenue to help the struggling nation finance programs to reduce poverty and generate badly needed economic growth. “That’s our priority,” Mr. Mpanu said, in an interview last week. “Our priority is not to save the planet.”.…

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